No one cared for the school day. Not the students, not the teachers, not the janitor. As far as they were concerned, the day was a useless distraction, dragging out the show for mere timestamps. Everyone had gotten their tickets and had been seated, but they still had to contend with watching dry adults ramble on about imaginary numbers. These “first acts” would not be missed.

School ended, then, in a much more excited fervor than when it began. A battalion of students, armed with heavy backpacks, wearing emblems of excitement and anticipation, rolled out of the stained-glass double-doors. Some marched home, heads held high; others surged into their cars and took off for some last-minute preparations. War might as well have been coming—if one considered this battle against time war enough.

“Goodbye, students!” Principal Celestia called after them; though few turned to offer similar sentiments. “And don’t forget,” she added, “the Event begins at 5:30 tonight!”

Vice Principal Luna walked up beside her. “You’re excited, I see.”

“Of course I am. Aren’t you?”

“Indeed I am,” she replied. “We’ve had many an exciting dance at our school, but I hope that this one turns out to be one of the best.”

“As do I, Luna.”

Some students still lingered. They went up to the principals and asked for a little more information: if they needed to bring food, some sort of ID, whatever. “Food will be provided by Sugarcube Corner,” Celestia explained. “As for identification, you should bring your school ID. You’ll come in through the front, where someone will meet you and check you in.”

Once they had walked off, Luna asked, “Who will be the meet-and-greet, then? Miss Roseluck, perhaps?”

“Actually, Raven volunteered. Something about ‘not having anything better to do.’”

“Besides paperwork, of course.”

“Of course.”

They walked back inside the school. “Nurse Redheart will also be on duty,” said Celestia. “Though, hopefully, her services won’t be needed.”

“And the other teachers?”

“Most have gone home for the day. Maybe they’ll turn up, maybe they won’t.” She smiled. “I’d imagine that you’d want Mr. Solil to come, won’t you?”

Luna raised an eyebrow, but failed to hide the growing blush. “S-sister? What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, nothing, dear Lulu. I do admit, he’s a fine man. I wonder if he can dance just as well as he can teach?”

Luna let out a groan. “You and your insistent teasing. I swear, Celly, that you just have it out for me.”

“Nonsense, Luna. I care for you very much. And that means a little teasing every now and then.”

Luna groaned again. “It was just a college fling, that’s all!”

“Was it? I thought you two were cute together!”

“That’s not—hang on. You thought that?”

Celestia smirked victoriously. “Oh, so now you’re suddenly interested.”

They kept walking, with the principal teasing her younger sister along the way. Eventually they reached the gym. Celestia pulled opened the doors and they entered.

With the bleachers pushed all the way, it was now more spacious than ever before; just enough room for a large dance center, a stage for the music, and an area to the side for the food. Besides that, there were some students from the Party Planning Committee, all busy at work putting up the decorations, the balloons, the stickers, and even adjusting the lights.

Cheese Sandwich looked up from where he had been painting a large banner. “Oh, hey, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna!”

He got up and walked over to them, giving a little salute. “Hello to you, too, Cheese,” Luna greeted. “I take it that your Committee is almost done.”

“Yep!” he responded. “Thanks for letting use our time after school to get things rolling; without it, we might never have finished.”

“It’s quite impressive what you’ve done so far,” Celestia said. “Do you have an estimate of how long it’ll take to finish decorating?”

“About another hour, I think. That should be time enough, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Celestia nodded. “Well, we just wanted to check in on you all, make sure you were all working. We’ll leave you be, then.”

“Got it, ma’am!” Cheese did another salute and marched back to his station. Celestia and Luna walked out of the gym.

“Still nervous?” Celestia asked her sister.

“For a different reason altogether, Celestia. What will the other schools think?”

“I’m sure they’ll like what we have set up, Luna.”

“That may be true for schools like Canter Academy and Strident High School, but what about Crystal Prep?”

“Principal Cinch is an… interesting woman,” Celestia said after a moment of silence. “I don’t doubt her school’s students and their academic prowess. No doubt they still consider us… less than equals.”

“And do you think this dance will change that?”

“It is doubtful. The Friendship Games are coming up, after all. I’m hoping then that we’ll have bridged this gap between our schools. But think of this dance in this way, Luna: it’s a mingling of not students, but of people. A quick and fun way to demonstrate that deep down, we’re all the same, really. That we all can dance and eat and have fun.”

Luna was silent for several moments as they walked back to their office. This did not escape Celestia’s attention as they entered. “If you have some concerns,” she started, before trailing off.

Her sister shook her head. “No, Celly. It’s just… hmm. What is it, indeed?” She crossed her arms and blew her hair out of her face. “This is a big event, Celestia. And that means that there are many things that can go wrong.”

“I suppose that is a risk—”

“It’s not something you can suppose, Celestia. It’s a constant factor. Need I bring up the Fall Formal and the Battle of the Bands?”

Celestia offered a begrudging nod. “But that doesn’t mean,” she said, “that something bad will happen. Who knows; maybe something good will happen.”

“I guess you’re right. Maybe I’m nervous over nothing.”

“I beg to differ, sister. You worry over the most important things, in case I miss them.” She smiled. “That doesn’t make your concerns any less valid.”

Luna gave her own smile. “Thanks, Celestia.”

“Of course, sister.” She sighed. “Sadly, that’s all the help I’ll be able to give you for now. I’ve a ton of paperwork I have to fill out.”

“That’s fine, Celestia. I suppose I’ll head home, then?”

“If you want.”

Luna grabbed her belongings from her desk and got up. She went for the door. Just as she opened it, Celestia cleared her throat. “Actually… there’s one other piece of advice I can give to you.”

“Oh? Let’s hear it.”

“Wear the black, slinky dress. You’ll look good in it.”

Celestia tried not to giggle as her sister erupted into a full-on blush. Her mirth was cut short, however, as the door slammed shut, blowing away a stack of papers. She sighed.

“You win this time, Lulu.”

By the time night had fallen on the fair city and town of Canterlot, and by the time the stars had cast aside their blue shields and shined down upon the world, the need for their nightly illumination had been disregarded. Already, cars drove slowly up and down the roads as they headed for Canterlot High. With them lined up and their lights on, entire blocks were lit up in a copper glow.

Some students still walked, though. Those unable to secure a ride, or those who just wanted to be in the company of their friends, took to the sidewalks like moths to a flame. Though it now proved unnecessary, most carried colorful glowsticks that they stuck out of their pockets. Combined with the copper glow, if one were to stare from the height of the clouds at the world beneath, they might have mistaken them all for a large migration of fireflies all heading up a western pathway.

From that same height, one would not have been able to distinguish from which schools did each student originate from. While most, obviously, came from Canterlot High, the fact that they had chosen no uniform to wear and strode in dresses, skirts, suits, and tuxedoes alike made identifying them even harder; it did not help that none wore the symbol of their school on their sleeves. The other schools that were to come and their students were much the same. Perhaps one or two had a dress similar in color scheme to their patron school, but other than that, the distinction was mostly needless; some were even lucky enough to meet up with these Canterlot high schoolers, assimilating into their groups and already establishing the foundations of friendship over distances and time.

This assimilation, paradoxical as it may sound, both highlighted and hindered Celestia’s goal. Highlighted, in that most had already said hello to each other and were fast on the way of becoming friends; hindered, in that some did not properly assimilate. Some remained in their own school pockets; and some remained in even smaller groups, with their only company being themselves.

Even then, there were distinctions to be found.

His, for example, was the shock of white hair with raven highlights that contrasted his natural-blue skin. In the multicolored and artificial glow in front and around him, his eyes gleamed like golden nuggets. This brought more attention to his attire. The slate, open suit and dark-blue jeans were the perfect blend of casualness and formalness which, to his knowledge, was exactly what this dance was all about. Onward did he strive, and in silence, too. And while he walked with an air of formality, it seemed stiff; it had been taught, not inherited; it was artificial, different.

He looked around him, noticing that he was actually walking alone. Geez… am I really the only Crystal Prep kid here? That’s kind of embarrassing. He shrugged. Ah, well. I guess that makes sense, considering how I’m the only Crystal Prep to have even cared for what was happening at Canterlot High.

Wise words from a wiser Miss Red Rose came to him in a flash. “Always, Lone Wolf, look on the bright side of life.”

Well, I guess it’s not so bad. Lone Wolf stared at the ground. It’s not too cold out, and even if the temperature does drop, this suit should be heavy enough to keep me warm. And Canterlot High, while a long ways away from Crystal Prep, isn’t too far… though, it would have been nice if I had been able to drive there.

Suddenly, he saw a copper glow around him; it was slowly growing smaller, like it was being focused through a laser pointer. He heard some tires screeching against the pavement, and the loud, blaring music from some car racing up the road. Looking back, he saw it approach, the driver ignoring his rambunctious passengers. Lone’s eyes widened as he realized that the driver was about to splash into a large puddle.

Lone immediately dove to the side just as the car hit the puddle. The water splashed outward, landing on the wall that had been just beside him a moment before. But the puddle had actually been a pothole, too, so when the car hit it, it careened off and went flying. Somehow, the driver managed to regain control, jerking his wheel to the side and forcing the car back onto the road, music, kids, and muddied wheels in tow.

After a moment, Lone got up. He patted himself down; nothing seemed to be wet, and his suit was only a might bit dusty from the fall. Well… that could have been much worse.

The sounds of strangled breaths and a painful moan pierced his ears, sharply and suddenly; they came from behind him. Did someone else get hit?

He whirled around, and gasped. “Oh, geez!”

Without any cars behind him, his only source of light was the small, pink glowstick in his pocket. Taking it out, he could now more clearly see the source of the noise. It was a boy, about his age, with a disarmingly similar color of hair. His suit was the color of the twilight sky—a rich variant of navy—with a flower tucked into the front pocket. He was on his bottom, nursing his left leg, eyes scrunched up as he breathed shortly through his nose. Lone noticed that there was a cane sitting beside him.

He approached. “Hey, you okay?”

The boy’s eyes shot open; they were a brilliant, cerulean-blue. He murmured something incomprehensible. Lone ignored this and got closer. “Damn, did you jump, too?”

“Had to,” the boy murmured. “Car was coming.”

“Yep. Did something hit you, then?”

“No… I fell. Leg… hurts.”

“Here, let me help.”

The other boy made to protest, eyes becoming pinpricks and his other hand coming up. Lone stopped. “That was a pretty nasty fall.”

“It wasn’t… as bad,” he grunted, shuffling a bit so that his back now propped itself against the fence behind him. He took a few deep breaths. Then, he, grabbing his cane, slowly pushed himself up. Lone stood up as well.

The boy teetered for a moment, and Lone quickly moved and caught him. “Easy there, man. Don’t force yourself if you can’t.”

“I can walk,” he replied.

Lone shook his head. “Not over that next hill you can’t. Here, let me help.”

The other boy might have tried to slip out from under him, perhaps even going so far as to whack him with his cane, but the problem lay in their height difference; Lone was a good two inches taller than the boy, making it somewhat awkward to carry him over one shoulder without accidentally lifting him up. Eventually, though, the boy did relent to Lone. He let out a sigh. “Fine. Let’s just go.”

Together, they shuffled up the road. Aside from the distant rumbling of car engines and the other boy’s difficult breathing, Lone heard nothing else; the boy’s breathing soon corrected, becoming regular, calmer, even as they trudged up the hill in stomps.

“Huh. You sound better already,” Lone commented.

The boy shrugged the other off his shoulder, taking a few, cautious steps with his cane. “Yeah. I guess so.”

“So you can walk now?”

“Hopefully.”

“… You don’t talk much, do you?”

The other boy turned to look to him; to Lone’s surprise, they were filled with tiredness. “Do you?”

“Ha, I guess I don’t. At least, compared to others.”

The other boy nodded. He pointed with his cane. “You’re going to the Fall Hallows’ Eve Event, aren’t you?”

Lone blinked. “Hey, yeah. How’d you guess?”

“It’s Friday, and you’re dressed up for some fancy occasion.” He shrugged. “Not too farfetched of a guess, if you ask me.”

“When you put it that way, I guess it isn’t.”

“You’re not wearing some sort of insignia, though. And I haven’t seen you before…” In the pink glow from the glowstick, the boy adopted a slightly pensive look. “You don’t go to Canterlot High like I do, do you?”

Lone shuffled on his feet, looking away. “W-well, no…”

“Another school, then. Winnipiac?”

“No…”

“Strident? Canter?”

“Those… are a little closer, but no.”

The boy crossed his arms. “Where else, then?”

“Uh… you probably don’t want to know.”

The boy raised an eyebrow. “It can’t be that bad.”

Lone sighed. “Look, as long as you don’t start screaming your head off, I’ll tell you, alright?”

“Go ahead, then.”

“I’m from Crystal Prep.”

“Oh, really? That’s neat.”

“And I know you probably hate me for it—wait, what?”

The other boy cocked his head. “Sorry; hate you for it?”

“Well, wouldn’t you? I mean, I’m from Crystal Prep, and you’re from Canterlot High…”

“Yeah, and?”

“W-well, don’t you guys hate us or something?”

“Do we? I wasn’t even aware of that. Canterlot seemed too… sunny for that.”

“But—the Friendship Games!”

“Those aren’t until a few more months.”

“And our schools’ history!”

“I didn’t even know until now there was a history between us.”

Lone paused, as the gears in his head began to whirl and click into place. “Are you… new?”

“I’ve been in Canterlot High for… two months now. So I wouldn’t call myself ‘new’ per se. But… I guess I am still the ‘new kid’ around here.”

“O-oh! Well, that’s a relief. At least you aren’t mad at me for going to Crystal Prep!”

“Not at all. Crystal Prep, from what I hear, is a fine school in it of itself.”

Lone sighed. “Yeah, well, if you only count the academics. Everything else is… eh.”

“Hmm… if you say so.”

The other boy turned on his cane and limped forward. Lone followed after him. “If you’re from Crystal Prep,” he asked, “then where are the other students?”

“They didn’t want to come. Because—”

“Of our schools’ bitter rivalry, apparently?”

“That’s part of it.” Lone let out a dry chuckle. “The principal—Principal Abacus Cinch—didn’t want a lot of kids to go in the first place. Not that there were many who were willing to sacrifice their studying time just to go to a ‘dumb dance.’ Their words, not mine,” he quickly added.

“No offense taken.”

They kept walking. With the boy’s limp, they were nowhere closer to the other students, but Lone didn’t mind. Soon, Canterlot High lay in sight.

“You can go on without me, you know,” said the other boy.

Lone shook his head. “That’d be rude of me. Besides, you look like you could use the company.”

The other boy turned to look at him. Lone could have sworn his eyes shimmered. Were they filled with emotion, or with tears? Or both? Or was it just the trick of the light? “Yeah… maybe.”

They walked a little further, before Lone cleared his throat. “I forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I? I’m Lone Wolf.”

They stopped in front of one of the many houses on the side of the road. Lone extended a hand, which the boy, after a careful moment of eyeing it, took and shook. “Pleasure to meet you, Lone Wolf. I’m Artifex. Artifex Frost.”

“Artifex? That’s a strange name.”

“About as strange as yours, or as Soul’s, or Sunset’s, or anyone, for that matter.”

Lone blinked, and then smiled. “Yeah, I guess it is. It’s good to meet you, too, Artifex.”

They walked a little more. It grew a little colder. As they got closer to the school, Lone could see flashing lights coming from inside.

“By the way,” he said, “what does Artifex mean? It sounds foreign.”

For some odd reason, Artifex’s lips almost quirked upward. “Well, let me tell you…”

The first thing that Artifex noticed when he walked inside of the school was the line. Filled with students, all wearing some manner of dress, suit, or uniform, it was a colorful parade of people, most of whom he did not or could not recognize. Some had already split off into splinter groups of their own. These were either large or small, and they were all chatty and loud. Few were actually left on their own, and none seemed to bother checking their phones or other devices.

Because the line was so long, he and the newly-met Lone had to stand at the way back. They were among the last to arrive, but Lone told him that he suspected they weren’t the last ones coming. “On my way here, I saw a bunch of people piling into cars or getting ready to leave their homes,” he had said as they had walked through the front entrance.

“None, of course, were from any Crystal Prep students’ house,” Artifex had responded.

Lone had sighed. “Nope. Of course not.”

So they stood in the back and waited. As they waited, they got to talking with each other again. Lone was a pleasant boy through and through. He may have been taller than Artifex, but not once did he talk down to him, both in the literal sense and in the metaphorical sense. When he did talk, Artifex could tell that he was not a native to this country; after a bit of questioning, he found that he was actually Belgian by birth, and had moved here some time ago. All very impressive, considering his age; he reminded Artifex of a bit of Soul, and a bit of Swift, and a bit of Clyde, with a good amount of charm that was unique to him and him alone.

“Hey, I’m just a guy like any other,” Lone insisted. “I have my ups and my downs.”

“If you didn’t, I’d genuinely be concerned,” Artifex responded, and he almost smirked.

The line moved up, and they did, too, though their flanks remained uncovered. Artifex could hear the wind blowing against the building, though not too fiercely, and the windows creaked and rattled like bones against concrete.

He shivered; where had that analogy come from? Perhaps it was because it was Halloween, after all.

“Are you going to go trick-or-treating later?” Lone asked.

Artifex raised an eyebrow. “I’m here right now; I don’t think I’ll be leaving any time soon.”

“Fair point.”

Just as the line moved up again, there was the sound of glass doors swinging open. Artifex glanced behind him; another group of kids had arrived. At first, he didn’t recognize them; but, as they grew closer and the orange-skinned one’s eyes lit up upon seeing him, he suddenly hit a stroke of realization.

“Hey! You’re that Artifex dude, right?” the orange-skinned girl asked, her voice just a touch raspy. “You and my brother are, like, really good friends!”

“I am. You’re… Scootaloo, aren’t you? Swift’s sister.”

“That’s Artifex?” the white-skinned girl to her side asked, though not with any offense to her voice. “He’s shorter than I thought.”

“He can hear ya, Sweetie Belle,” said the yellow-skinned one. She looked at Artifex. “Sorry ‘bout this, Artifex.”

“It’s fine,” he said with a wave of his arm. “But how do you know about me?”

“Easy! Ah’m Applejack’s sister, Apple Bloom! And she’s told me a lot about you!”

“And I’m Sweetie Belle,” said the other girl. “Rarity’s sister.”

Artifex nodded. “Well, it’s nice to formally meet you three.”

“Same to you,” Apple Bloom said. “So Ah take it that yer here for the dance, then? And you brought a friend.” She squinted at Lone. “Don’t think Ah’ve seen you around before, Mistah. What’s your name?”

“Oh, I’m, uh, Lone Wolf,” he stuttered. “I don’t… go to Canterlot High.”

The three girls moved up behind them as the line again shifted. “Really?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Where do you go, then?”

Lone broke it to them hesitantly. None, however, seemed offended that he went to Crystal Prep. “Eh. You don’t seem like a Crystal Prep kind of person,” said Scootaloo.

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’re not a stuck-up like they are. You’re more naïve, I guess.”

“Oh. Uh… thanks, I think?”

Around five people were left in line, not including Artifex and the four people behind him. As he got closer, he could hear music playing from somewhere distant, presumably the gym; it was loud enough to echo off of the walls and be heard all the way to the entrance.

“Whoa. That’s a pretty good disc jockey,” Lone commented. “Did you guys hire a professional or something?”

“Don’t think so,” Apple Bloom said. “It’s probably just Vinyl Scratch.”

“Vinyl Scratch?”

“Yeah. She goes to our school.”

“You mean you have your own, personal DJ? That’s so cool!”

Artifex probably would have chuckled, but he was busy focusing on the dwindling line. He gripped his cane a little tightly. The line continued to shorten; the music grew louder with each step; the girls and Lone kept talking. It was too noisy; he couldn’t escape his anxious feelings by falling into his many thoughts.

Greeting them was a dark-haired woman. It took Artifex a moment to recognize her; it took her just as long to recognize him. She spoke first, lips split into a welcoming smile. “Ah, Artifex. Here for the Event, then?”

He nodded. “That I am, Miss Raven. Here’s my ID.” She nodded and took it, checking his name down. She then handed it back, and he stepped forward. “Next, please. Ah, I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. Different school?”

“Yes, that’s right,” said Lone. Then, in a quieter tone: “Crystal Prep, actually.”

Raven merely smiled. “I see. May I have your ID, then?”

Lone handed it to her. On another list, she wrote down his name as well as his patron school, then handed the card back to him. “Off you go, then. Next?”

“You guys go on ahead,” said Apple Bloom to the boys. “We’ll catch up in the gym!”

Lone and he walked down the hallway, heading towards the gym. After they had taken several steps, the other boy commented, “Those girls seemed very nice.”

“It was my first time meeting them, but yeah, they do seem nice.”

“Are all Canterlot High kids like that?”

“I guess.”

“Hmm. So then they wouldn’t mind if I said that I was from Crystal Prep?”

Artifex momentarily paused. “That… might not be a good idea. Sure, those girls are okay, but if our schools’ history—not that I’m aware of it—is a sign of anything, it’s that you might risk being, at worst, thrown out before the night’s over.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not.”

“To be fair, it’s probably a low possibility. But,” he added, glancing at Lone, “if I were you, I’d still not divulge that information.”

“Well, all right. That seems smart enough.” He rubbed the back of his head. “But, um, while I still can, I want to say thanks.”

“Thanks?” They both stopped walking, with Artifex turning to face Lone. “For what?”

“For, you know. Being cool about me being from Crystal Prep and all that. I didn’t want to forget to let you know that, especially if I do somehow get thrown out.”

He said the last part with a good-natured smile. It was met with a neutral expression from Artifex, but he at least nodded. “It’s no big deal,” he said. “Just doing what… what I was taught.”

They kept walking; Lone didn’t seem insistent on clarifying just who or what had taught him, and for that Artifex was grateful.

They passed the hall with windows that looked into the courtyard. Artifex looked through them, and still saw that snowdrop flower that Sonata had planted a month ago. How it had managed to survive so long without either he or Sonata taking proper care of it amazed him. He only was briefly shocked when, for a second, he saw a patch of red float up to the flower and water it. When he blinked it was gone.

He shrugged it off as nothing even though he knew, deep down, it was something.

Upon finally reaching the gym, Lone let out an impressed whistle.

Canterlot High had pulled out all the stops; this, even Artifex could admit. While the lights had been turned off, someone had rigged a reflective disco ball on the ceiling, emitting light and spinning every once in a while. Besides the decorated tables, the Party Planning Committee had set up several games all around the gym. Artifex saw several kids at each, laughing and cheering on their other students. The stage had been cleared of old props. Resting upon it, right in the center, was Vinyl Scratch and her famed DJ kit, blasting music left and right. The loud wubs did not deter anyone’s spirit.

The rest of the students present stood at the sides and in the center, snacking on whatever Sugarcube Corner had brought. Some were actually in the middle, though no serious dancing had occurred. Artifex counted several familiar faces, including Soarin, who was blushing as his date for the night—Spitfire, he guessed, based on her fiery-red hair—said something and laughed.

“Holy crap,” Lone near-whispered. “I admit, didn’t think you Canterlot High people had it in you.”

“Neither did I,” Artifex replied. He kept looking around, searching for some more familiar faces. He noted that the ex-Sirens were present, though they had yet to see him. Sonata was at the Pin-The-Tail-On-The-Donkey game (he wondered if she’d be offended; then he remembered that she wasn’t actually an equine) while her sisters looked on, their heads turned away from him.

There was a sudden dash of pink moving from behind the tables; a moment later, Pinkie Pie stood before him, a wide smile on her face. “Hey! Arty! You came!”

She immediately bounced in and gave him a tight hug, one that, after a moment, he returned. “Heya, Pinkie,” he said.

She pulled back from the hug, giving him a once-over. “Ooh, you look snazzy! I like the navy suit you’re rocking! Ooh, and cool flower!”

“Thanks. I’d… wanted to try something slightly different.” He quickly took note of her outfit. “Rarity made that?” he asked.

“Yepperoni! Pink and blue, just the way I wanted it!” She did a little twirl, then stopped on her tippy-toes, blinking at the boy. “Think I look cute?”

“That’s for Swift to say, Pinkie. But if it really matters that much, you look pretty good yourself.”

“Sweet!”

She hugged him again, only to suddenly pull away and (loudly) gasp. “Ohmigosh! Who’s that behind you?”

Turning, he saw Lone shift on his feet. Artifex glanced back at the enthusiastic party girl. “Right, you two haven’t met. Pinkie, this is Lone Wolf. Lone, this is Pinkie Pie.”

Lone held out a hand. “Er, hi—”

He was unable to get another word in as Pinkie took his hand and vigorously shook, somehow managing to bounce him up and down without a problem. “Hi, Lone! It’s really nice to meet you! I’m Pinkie Pie, but, well, Arty already told you that, so you already know! I don’t think I’ve seen you around before, so you probably don’t go to Canterlot High! But that’s okay because I already met some other kids from other schools and they’re really, really nice so I bet you’ll be the same! And Lone Wolf? That’s a cool name! It just screams coolness, like this: ‘Coolness!’ Yeah! I’m gonna shout that again! ‘Coolness! Coolness! Cool—‘”

“Pinkie!”

Artifex pulled the girl away from the befuddled (and most definitely bewildered) boy. “You’re gonna yell his ear off if you keep that up.”

Pinkie giggled. “Sorry! I just get really excited when I meet someone new!”

He rolled his eyes. “What else is new?”

“Well, did you hear about Flash and Ga—”

“I was being sarcastic, Pinkie.” An image of a blue-haired boy flashed in his mind, but he couldn’t put a face to the other person.

“Oops! Sorry!” She beamed, undeterred. “Well, anyway, I gotta help the Cakes with the food. Why don’t you guys go see the rest of our friends?”

Bouncing off far faster than what was considered normal, Pinkie left the two standing there. Artifex was unfazed, but Lone looked a bit shaken. He sort of stumbled over to Artifex. “Is she… always like that?”

“You have no idea. But you get used to it after some time.”

Artifex took a deep breath. Remember… try to act positive. “Right. So… I guess we should go say hello to everyone, huh?”

“Yup. Should we start with anyone in particular?”

Artifex gazed all around, still not seeing anyone else familiar besides the Sirens. “I know of three,” he said.

They walked over to the Donkey corner. Sonata was still up, dizzy and teetering on her feet. Her tongue hung limply out of her mouth, and she giggled. “Whoa, this is so weird!”

Lone raised an eyebrow. Artifex motioned for him to be quiet for the moment.

The Sirens still hadn’t noticed them. Sonata took a shaky step forward, and nearly fell. She giggled again. “H-hey! Dagi, Ari! Little help?”

“You’re supposed to figure it out on your own, Sonata,” Adagio said. Artifex caught the second siren’s look; she seemed to have eaten something awful, as her face was scrunched up.

Sonata nodded. “R-right! Um… How about…” She took a few more steps, until she was right in front of the wall. “Here!” she shouted as she slammed the tail into it.

Artifex had to suppress a whistle as Sonata peeled off the blindfold; she’d managed to pin the tail right where it should have been. The ex-Siren let out a delighted squeal. Adagio clapped, while Aria—much to his surprise—let out a soft chuckle.

He couldn’t resist, even though he knew it would probably result in him getting punched. He leaned in and said, “Enjoying yourself?”

Aria let out an uncharacteristically high-pitched screech and jumped into Adagio, knocking the two down. “Gah! What the—”

Her eyes, with frightening intensity, focused on the boy in front of her. “You!”

Artifex stopped himself from smirking, choosing instead to rest comfortably on his cane. Lone came up beside him, wearing a confused expression.

Before Aria could put in another word—likely an expletive—Adagio pushed her off. She smiled, way more warmly than she normally did. “Well, well, well. Artifex Frost, in the flesh.”

Aria got up, huffing madly, while Adagio remained on the floor. After a moment, Artifex stepped forward and offered a hand, which she gratefully took. “Adagio,” he greeted simply.

Something nearly toppled him over; it was Sonata, who, deciding words weren’t enough, had gone and hugged him tightly to her. She squealed into his shoulder as he awkwardly pat her back.

He looked over at Aria and nodded. She fumed, but, at the very least, didn’t seem intent on punching him. “Jerk,” he heard her mutter. He rolled his eyes.

Once Sonata pulled away, Adagio said, “And I see you’ve brought a friend with you.”

“Yes. Lone Wolf, meet Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk.”

Lone walked over and extended a hand. “Nice to meet you. You’re all friends with Artifex?”

Adagio smirked, ignoring the hand and drawing intimately close to Lone. “You could say that. Mm… you’ve great taste in men, Artifex. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Artifex resisted the urge to snort—which was hard to do under Adagio’s flirtatious eyes and Lone’s growing blush. “Ever the tease,” he said.

“Er, ah, um,” Lone could only stutter.

The former villain laughed and moved away, allowing Sonata and Aria to extend their own greetings. She turned to Artifex, the smile becoming small, but still apparent. “So you really did show up,” she said.

“Did you think I wouldn’t?”

“You never responded to my text. I thought you weren’t sure.”

He looked again around the gym, at the decorations, the people. He smelled the food, heard the beating and blaring music. “Maybe I’m a little more sure now than I was before,” he murmured.

Adagio nodded and, alarmingly, reached out with both hands and set them on Artifex’s shoulders. Her smile returned warm. She looked nice with it. “That’s a good thing,” she said.

“Where is everyone else?” he asked her.

“Hmm? Oh, you mean the girls and the guys?” She pointed somewhere back stage. “The band is in the back, getting their stuff together. I think the others are helping them, though—” She paused, smirking, “—I think that there might be more than just ‘help’ going on back there.”

Artifex remained unfazed. She had to chuckle at that, but it was a dry chuckle, and there was trace amounts of tiredness in it. “Of course you wouldn’t laugh at that. But can you blame me for trying?”

“No, I can’t.”

She looked back at him. There was a twinkle in her eyes. She smiled again. “Thank goodness for that, I suppose.”

Sonata handed back the blindfold to the person who was in charge, all while still talking with Lone. “So you go to Crystal Prep? Neat!”

“You’re not bothered by that?”

“Why would I? I tried to take over the world once; rival schools don’t have anything against that!”

Lone, flabbergasted, stuttered. Artifex and Adagio were quick to the rescue. “She’s just joking,” they said in unison, then looked at each other in surprise.

“Huh? Why’d you two cut me off like that—mmph!” Sonata was silenced by Aria reaching around and placing a hand over her mouth. The tough ex-Siren attempted a smile, but it was more of a grimace.

“She’s had a little too much sugar, that’s all,” she said, even as Sonata squirmed.

Lone blinked. “Er… okay.”

Artifex saw Adagio’s head turn. “Looks like they’ve finished setting up,” she said. He turned as well and saw Soul, Swift, and Clyde walk out from behind the curtain. He raised an eyebrow when he saw that Clyde looked like he’d been through the wringer. Adagio giggled. “Guess I was right after all.”

“What? Why?” Lone asked.

“Never mind that,” Artifex said. “Let’s go greet them.” He turned back to Adagio. “It was good to see you again.”

“Likewise, Artifex Frost.”

As they were walking away, Lone asked him, “So… was she your girlfriend?”

Artifex shot him a narrow look. “No. What makes you think that?”

“Because you and she got along pretty well. Was it one of the other girls there, then?”

“None of them are my girlfriends. But they are friends.” He looked away. “Besides, enough people already think Sonata and I are a couple. I don’t need that amount of shipping in my life.”

“You get shipped?”

“By a select few, thank goodness. What about you? Got any special someones?”

“N-no?”

Artifex gave him an incredulous look, then shook his head. “Well, if you say so. I bet she’s nice, though.”

The other boy blushed and sighed. Artifex tried not to laugh. He could already hear Adagio’s voice in the back of his mind. And you say I’m the teaser…

They got closer. None of the three guys appeared to see them, so Artifex attempted to call out. The loud music from Vinyl’s equipment, however, prevented them from hearing him. He tried again; a blaring, earth-shaking blurb cut him off.

Just as they were close enough to be within the guys’ lines of sight—

“Whoa, Soul! Did you get mad lip game with Sunset while you were back there?”

Soul scrunched up his nose. “What? No, of course not. That’d be distracting!”

“But you were tempted!”

“Only a little…”

Artifex had to do a double-take. The boy who had spoken wore some sort of costume, made of various parts and pieces, all in varying shades of blue. His head was covered by a rounded helmet, and when he turned slightly to laugh, Artifex saw that in the middle was a red gem. More alarming was the fact that the boy wielded what Artifex could only describe as an “arm cannon” of some sort, though he doubted (hopefully) that it was nothing more than a prop.

As they grew a little bit closer, he saw that beside the boy was another person: a girl. She had not, like the boy beside her, taken up costume-wearing. Instead, she wore a sparkling, red dress. Her red hair had been set into tight pigtails, without a trace of an accessory in them. She looked absolutely uncomfortable in it; she kept pulling at the skirt, like she wanted to rip it off. A more odd observation was that she was quite shorter; way shorter than the boy beside her.

“Hey!” the girl suddenly cried. “Quit describing me like that!”

Artifex raised an eyebrow. Who was she talking to?

“You know who I’m talking to!”

Me?

“Easy there, Gaige,” the boy beside her said. “We did just get introduced into this story, after all.”

Soul frowned. “Okay, seriously; who are you two talking to?”

“Well, if my Treble Sense is correct, the person we’re talking to is way up there.” The boy pointed up. “But, I bet that the next best thing is just around the corner—aha! There!”

Coincidentally, Artifex and Lone had arrived, and both were surprised to find the boy’s finger pointing towards them. He had a wickedly sly grin on. “Heh, look at that? I’ve still got it.”

“W-what?” Lone stuttered.

“Oh, hey! It’s that new character that Jarvy was talking about introducing some time ago!” the boy exclaimed. “And…” He looked at Artifex. “That must mean you’re that author’s original character, right?”

He could only stare, at a complete loss for words. Gaige, meanwhile, stared at Lone, drooling ever so slightly.

She slurped up the drool. “Ah! I wasn’t staring!”

You totally were.

“Oh, so now you decide to talk to us!”

Soul finally looked over, and his face split into a wide grin. “Hey! Artifex! You’re here!” Both Clyde and Swift looked up, and they also smiled.

Extending a hand while keeping the other on his cane, Artifex nodded as Soul came over and shook it. “Indeed I am, Soul,” he said. “Hello to you, too, Clyde, Swift.”

Clyde whistled. “Nice suit, dude. Fits you.”

“Thanks. Yours as well.”

“What about mine?” Swift asked.

“Yours is good, too, Swift, don’t worry,” Artifex said with a slight eye-roll. “By the way, Pinkie sends her regards.”

He then gestured to the boy next to him. “This is Lone Wolf. He’s not from Canterlot High, but he is here for the party tonight. Lone, please meet Soul Writer, Clyde, and Swift Justice.”

They all shook hands, extending their pleasantries. “Belgian?” Clyde guessed.

Lone brightened. “Hey, yeah! That’s so cool how you recognized that!”

As they continued talking, Artifex turned back to Soul. “Those two over there… friends of yours?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. That’s Treble and Gaige Mix. Treble and I go way back—”

“Years, actually,” Treble interrupted with a grin. “I mean, sure, I’m only a few months younger compared to Soul’s story, but I’m getting a reboot and everything so—”

Soul gave him a half-lidded look. “Treble. You’re not making any sense.”

“Do I ever?”

Artifex wanted to smack himself in the face. “I see… Well, Treble and Gaige, it’s nice to meet you.” He held out his hand. “Artifex Frost.”

“Hey! Real nice to meet you, Frosty!” Treble took his hand and vigorously shook it. “You know, your name reminds me of that one author who’s also from Belgium!”

“Georges Simenon?”

“Who? No, I meant FrostGuardian! You should read his story sometime. Lone’s in it!”

As they released hands, Artifex regarded Treble with a bemused expression. “What are you talking about? Lone’s over there. Are you saying he’s part of some dude’s—” He searched for the correct word; “—fanfiction?”

Treble gasped. “Wait! Are you a fourth-wall-breaker, too?!”

Before Artifex could even begin to ask what that meant, Pinkie suddenly popped out of a nearby trashcan. “No, he isn’t! He’s just really smart and perceptive like that!” She popped back into the trash and appeared back at the tables behind them.

“Oh, okay!” said Treble. “Don’t worry, Artifex. You’re still cool on my book.”

Artifex’s eyebrow twitched, and his grip on his cane tightened—not out of anger or frustration, but mild annoyance. “And… the costume?”

“What, this thing?” Treble tapped his helmet. “Well, it is a Halloween dance, so I figured why not? Besides, I’m wearing my suit underneath for when that smooth jazz comes on!”

“Right.” Artifex turned to Gaige. “He’s your brother?”

“Yeah…”

“Is he always this—”

“Odd? Crazy? Insane?”

“I was going to say way…”

“Oh, don’t worry, we’re all like that.” Gaige suddenly looked up. “Isn’t that right, Jarvy?”

“Okay, seriously. Who are you talking to?”

“The author, baka. Who else?”

Artifex stared at her for far longer than he should have. His eyes blanked over several times before becoming narrow pinpricks. “What. The. Hell.”

Gaige regarded him with a somewhat bored look. “What? It’s not that hard to understand, Frosty—”

“Artifex.”

“Artsy.”

“You still got it wrong.”

“Whatever, Arfrosty. You baka.”

Artifex pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Then he turned to Soul. “Okay, you explain.”

The boy could only shrug. “They’ve always been like this, as far as I know. And Gaige just moved her from Japan.”

“Japan?”

“You know,” said Treble. “Land of the kawaii emojis, those weird products with even weirder goals, anime, hentai—”

“BAKA! Shut up, bro!”

“Aw, come on, sis! It’s just some innocent tentacle foreplay.” They began to argue, temporarily ignoring the others.

“Oh, God,” Artifex murmured.

“Hey, it’s okay to be confused. I still am about them. I just learned to live with it.” Soul paused. “Er, not that confusion is something you should accept and—”

“I get it, Soul. Don’t worry.”

Artifex looked at the Mixes, than at the others that were behind and next to him. “We’ve a pretty interesting friend group, don’t we?” he noted.

Soul nodded. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“Guess it should be an equally interesting night, then.”

“Should be. But hey! I’m sure it’ll be a fun one. It’ll take your mind off of… things.”

Artifex nodded. “Yeah. I think I could use that.”

They looked back at Treble and Gaige, and saw that they were still arguing. Artifex felt a familiar sense of emptiness just looking at them.

“Geez, Gaige, you’re getting really heated about this. Almost as heated up as you are about Flash Sentry—”

“Sh-shut up!” Gaige swung an arm, but Treble dodged it, laughing.

Soul and Artifex exchanged glances, with the latter letting out another short breath.

Then, the door to the gym’s exit opened up, revealing a certain yellow-skinned, blue-haired jock. He looked about as befuddled as Artifex felt. “Uh, did someone say my name?” His eyes widened. “Wait. Did Gaige say my name?”

Gaige yelped, her face flashing a deep crimson. She pushed past Treble, Soul, and Artifex, and somehow managed to hide herself (in retrospect, given her height, it wasn’t that hard) behind Lone. She held him a bit too tightly around the waist, burying her face into his back. “Agh… don’t let him see me, please, don’t let me see me!”

“Uh… wha?” Lone asked.

Artifex and Soul looked at each other once again. “Maybe interesting is a mild way to put it,” said Soul, rubbing the back of his head.

Artifex actually snorted. “Yeah, maybe…”

All further thoughts and confusions halted when they heard the music begin to die down. Vinyl stepped off from the equipment and walked over to the side of the stage. She barely flinched upon seeing Treble’s ridiculous get-up.

“It’s not ridiculous! It’s stylish!”

“Talking to the sky again, babe?” Vinyl said.

“Heh, you know it, Vin! Awesome music, by the way.”

“Thanks, babe.” She bent down and quickly kissed him.

“But why’d you stop?”

Vinyl smirked. “Because we’re moving on to the main event.”

They all turned to see Principal Celestia standing on stage, wearing an immaculate, white dress. She held a microphone up to her mouth. “Good evening, everyone! Welcome to our first ever Fall Hallows’ Eve Event! I trust you are all enjoying yourselves?”

A good portion of the student body present let out excited and enthusiastic cheers. Celestia smiled. “Well, that is very good to hear. But the night has just begun, and I am sure that you will find that tonight’s commodities will be to your liking.”

She extended an arm. “And now, to truly start this night off correctly, I invite each and every one of you to a live performance by our own school’s band: the Rainbooms!”

As she left the stage, the curtain spread, revealing the girls. “All right!” Rainbow shouted into her mic. “Let’s hit it!”

They began to play. It was a tune unfamiliar to Artifex, but it made him want to dance even with his ailing limp. His cane tapped against the floor. He became distracted by the music; so much so, that he didn’t notice Adagio saunter up to him, didn’t feel the slow, creeping sensation of a smile growing across his face.

The Fall Hallows’ Eve Event had begun.